100 Percent
by FuturisticVampire
Summary: Seto and Yami, having had no interaction beforehand besides chess tournaments and classwork, are paired together for a major school project. Seto always knew Yami to be a challenging, intelligent opponent, and until now that was just about all he expected from him. (AU; Prideshipping, Thiefshipping, Peachshipping, the works)
1. Chapter 1

**so im pretty bummed about this. i had this chapter all perfect and shit, was going over it one last time when the program crashed and all the data for that document was lost. this is a rewrite of the chapter i spent like two days writing and another two days rereading and editing. it probably isnt as good as it was, but i hope its still ok!**

**But anyways as an introduction, this is an idea I had and thought why not write it. It's actually been going a lot more smoothly than the other ideas I've had (see: vampire bakura), so I decided to post it. I hope you all enjoy it :3**

* * *

Chapter One

He was the first one in the classroom again. And what did that do for him? A good reputation for punctuality, for one. An opportunity to get ready for the day. Time to catch up on work he'd neglected to do the night before.

Oh, and of course, _absolute boredom_.

His eyes scanned the crinkled paper on his desk without registering the words, if only to keep the look of the confident and attentive student. Well, at least he at the _confident_ part down. He'd spent hours last night going through the packet over and over again, making sure he had every word memorized. It really wasn't difficult material. He had no doubt that even if Isono hadn't (quite unfairly) forced him to study for those hours last night, he still would have gotten a passing grade. But now he was invested enough that a perfect score was the only option on this test.

The sound of someone else entering the classroom made him look up, if only for a brief distraction from that damned paper. Unfortunately, the person entering had the idea to look at him as well, and through the most unfortunate of coincidences, Seto's eyes met those of Yami Motou.

_Yami Motou_. He was someone just like Seto: a player of chess, and a competitor for the title of valedictorian in their class. Isono told him in wasn't _normal_, told him he should talk and try to and _make friends _with him, but still Seto considered Yami Motou his school archrival.

So, because Yami was his archrival, although he wanted to look away as soon as their eyes met, he had to hold his gaze. He wasn't going to show weakness by looking away in embarrassment or disdain. That person would have to be Yami.

But instead of looking to awkwardly to his feet and them back to his friends as Seto had hoped, Yami looked straight at Seto, and then _smiled_ at him. Seto's surprise showed on his face before he could hide it, eyes widening and lips parting slightly, and cursing, he quickly looked down to his desk again.

As soon as he was sure Yami had moved on from him, his eyes went to him again. He followed him to his desk from the corner of his eyes. Yami's desk was only two away from Seto's, and as the person in the middle currently wasn't present, it was easy for Seto to watch him from underneath his bangs. He'd been getting real good at that lately.

A person suddenly throwing themselves heavily into the seat in between them startled them both.

"Ugh, Yami, I am so not passing this test," the offender groaned.

_It's just vocabulary_, came Seto's inevitable patronizing thought. _It's not difficult._

Yami's pleasant laughter reached Seto, and he looked over to him again.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Jounouchi," he reassured. "Yugi helped you study last night, didn't he?"

Jounouchi leaned back in his chair, grimacing. "Yeah, but how am I supposed to memorize _all_ of those words?"

"Well, tell me what you do remember." His calm and inviting tone drew Seto in further.

"Well, I remember what meters are," Jounouchi drawled out. "Oh, and I can pick out rhyme patterns pretty well!"

Seto held back a vocal scoff. Rhyme patterns; what a goddamn accomplishment.

"Hey, what the hell are you looking at?"

Seto realized he had turned his head to listen to their conversation rather than facing his desk to keep the impression of dutiful studying. Fuck, and now he had to answer Jounouchi.

"Oh, I'm just admiring your _absolute genius_," he sneered. "It's not every high schooler that can recognize a _rhyme pattern_."

"Hey! I know what sarcasm is, thank you!" Jounouchi continued to speak, but Seto quit listening to him and glanced at Yami, who was watching with an amused smile. When their gazes met yet again, the small smile turned into something wider, and friendlier.

Seto was startled into looking at Jounouchi when he started shouting again.

"And you're studying, too, so don't pretend you know everything!" He pointed to the paper on Seto's desk.

"Hmph." Seto reached into his school case, pointedly opening a book on top of the paper and began reading it. But he wasn't actually reading it, of course. He was mentally going through his notes again.

Once Yami and Jounouchi's conversation had resumed, Seto happened another glance at Yami, laughing at something Jounouchi had said.

_Yami Motou._ The image of Yami smiling at him flashed through his mind again. _Fucking strange._

* * *

Yami had always found Kaiba an interesting and amusing individual. The way he dealt with Jounouchi and other people was often hilarious.

Even the first time they had spoken had interested Yami. Well, "_spoken_."

Yugi had dragged Yami to a chess club that was recently founded after school, promising it would be fun. It wasn't much fun, though. Most of the people Yami played against weren't very experienced, and the few that were Yami still beat.

He had just finished a match against an acquaintance of Yugi's and was scrolling absently on his phone when Seto Kaiba had seated himself across from him. Without a word, he moved one of his pawns forward and looked at Yami challengingly. Yami had looked at him, raised an eyebrow at his the way he was arrogantly posed in the chair, and accepted his challenge.

Kaiba proved to be his only skilled opponent of the day. Forcing him to his mental limit, on guard at all times, taking as little as Kaiba gave and giving as little as Kaiba could take, until what was sure to be the ultimate payoff.

Anticlimactically, the match ended in a draw. Yami had looked down at the board in disappointment. Kaiba had looked down at the board, back at Yami, said "They told me you were a worthy opponent," and left before Yami could say a thing.

Ha, leave it to Kaiba to say such dramatic things at an after-school chess club.

They had played a few games since then. The first two had ended the same as the last one, a draw, but Yami was very proud of the fact that he had won the third.

He'd looked at Kaiba with the triumphant word _Checkmate_ on his lips, and Kaiba had merely narrowed his eyes and stalked away without a word.

Such a sore loser.

Kaiba finished his test first. Yami recognized the crinkling of paper being turned over without having to look. He pictured Kaiba's pose in his mind, arms crossed, leaned back in his chair and scowling at nothing in particular, to ensure not only does everyone know that he finished first, but that he was completely confident in his work even without looking it over.

Yami mentally shook his head at the thought. Although Kaiba often claimed to not care about what anyone else thought, his every move was made to demonstrate how superior he was to everyone around him.

Yami finished second, turning his packet over and doodling absently on the back. He happened a look at Kaiba, who met his gaze. Yami smirked and raised his chin defiantly, the unspoken challenge hanging between them.

_Who will get the better grade?_

Kaiba scoffed a little and pointedly looked away from him. Obviously he thought it was going to be him, but Yami had spent the night at Ryou's house studying with him for hours. There was no score he was going to get other than perfect.

Some time later, the teacher declared their time over and started collecting the tests.

Jounouchi leaned over to Yami. "Man, the second part was really difficult," he whispered.

Yami shook his head. "Part two was easy. The only questions I had trouble with were question sixteen in the first part and question three in part three."

"Oh, I knew question three!" exclaimed Jounouchi proudly. "I remember Yugi telling me about it yesterday. So, basically sewing is used a lot as a metaphor for fate, like the Three Fates in Greek mythology, so the metaphor is the mother is controlling her daughter's life by sewing the blanket for her."

"That is a valid interpretation."

Both Yami and Jounouchi looked over at Kaiba. Neither were surprised; it wasn't unusual for him to butt into their conversations in a musing and wistful voice. He usually just said his piece and then returned to his own self again. Yami found his method of sharing his ideas amusing, while Jounouchi found it annoying that he always left his thoughts half-developed and refused to elaborate.

"The mother does sew the blanket with the image of her daughter's life," Kaiba continued. "But it the reason for it could either be seen as the mother dictating the daughter's life, sewing tne blanket like the Three Fates to ensure that things go the way she wants them to, or it could be seen as the mother documenting her life, living vicariously through her and painting her life into the fabric to savour each moment. But once the mother cut the string of the blanket, it was herself that died and not the daughter, which was what I didn't get..." He trailed off, apparently lost in thought before finishing. "Which one you see it as depends on your own experiences in life and what you relate to."

Yami could have left it there; after all, it Kaiba had never responded to either his nor Jounouchi's questions before, but he was curious.

"And yet, you saw both sides," he prodded.

Kaiba looked back at him, thought Yami couldn't decide whether it was confusion or surprise in his expression. He looked like he was about to answer, but then their teacher loudly cleared his throat.

"If I may, gentlemen?"

The three immediately ceased their conversation and looked to the front of the class.

"With the last few minutes of class, I would like to outline the schedule for the next unit..."

* * *

Seto reached into his locker for his physics textbook, replacing his calculus textbook with it in his case. He placed the calculus textbook carefully in the top shelf of the locker, next to his literature book. When he was satisfied it was neat, he closed the locker and started when his face became face-to-face with the face of his brother.

Goddammit, why did that even surprise him anymore? The kid always showed up in the oddest of places.

"Hey, Seto," greeted Noa with false peppiness. "So, how was the test?"

Seto sighed, turning away from him and starting to his class. Noa matched his pace easily, ceaselessly speaking. "Was it easy? Did you finish first? Do you think you got the hundred?"

Seto stopped halfway up the staircase, looking down at Noa. "Isn't your class that way?" He gestured somewhere off to the bottom of the stairs.

Noa shook his head happily. "Nope, I have chemistry now. That's right next to your class!"

Seto sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm _aware_." He went to climb the stairs again, but found his path was blocked by a group of girls huddled into a group. He groaned and decided there was no other way than to push past them. He heard them giggling as he walked away _Seto Kaiba just touched me!_ and ignored it with hatred.

"I don't know why you're taking physics anyways," Noa huffed from behind him. "You already know all that class is teaching about it."

"I'm just waiting until it gets to the point that tutor left off on," Seto answered.

"If that doesn't happen soon, I bet Isono will rehire the tutor."

"I bet he will."

Seto enjoyed the short moment of silence that followed, but he should have known it wouldn't last for long.

"So when will you get your grades? Isono will be disappointed if it's not a hundred. What do you think he'll have you do? Will he make you study more? Hire another tutor? Honestly I don't know why he's always on our asses about school; the old man cares too much. Oh, do you think he'll tell father?"

Seto didn't answer any of his questions, only headed into his class.

"Oh, okay. See you later, Seto!"

Taking a quick look around, Seto noticed he was one of the last students in the classroom and decided to blame Noa for it. He quickly took his seat by the window, crossed his legs and looked out the window vacantly. The image of Yami's smile came into his mind again, and he pushed it away again.

Yami's little brother was in this class. In fact, his seat was the one directly in front of Seto's, and at the beginning of the year by luck of the teacher's draw, they had been partnered up for the rest of the year. Seto supposed he would rather Yugi be his partner than the rest of the people in the class. Although he was a year below, he was probably the smartest there besides Seto.

Seto may have been satisfied by the teacher's pick, but he had noticed Yugi's longing look at the dainty brunette who was paired with Ryou Bakura. Had noticed it, and simply dismissed it. Seto didn't know much about the social workings of high school, but he knew that that particular girl was the kind who never stayed focused on one boy for long. It almost made Seto feel sorry for Yugi, but it was the kid's own fault for caring anyway.

When they were sent back to work on their labs, Seto couldn't do much else but lean against the table and sigh in boredom.

Noa was right; he already knew everything this class was teaching. He didn't need this stupid experiment to learn about the basics of electrostatics. Although he supposed it would be interesting, if only he was left to his own devices to figure it out himself instead of reading the instructions off a paper.

He sighed again, and Yugi looked over to him.

"You know," Yugi said casually, "Yami said that the scores for that literature test are in already."

Nothing Yugi had ever said before had interested Seto, but he had to admit that that had.

"Really?" he commented offhandedly.

"Mhm. Yami already went and got his from the teacher."

_Oh?_ That also interested Seto, but he was careful not to show it.

"I don't know what he got though. I haven't seen him since then, but he'll probably tell you later if you're going to chess today."

Seto scoffed, looking away. He really wasn't looking forward to ever _going to chess_ again. He still couldn't believe he had let an amateur like Yami beat him. Seto Kaiba, undefeated chess champion, beaten by some kid whose name hadn't ever been read aloud except for on a school attendance sheet. Although, he supposed he was lucky. Instead of it being in a tournament where his title of chess champion would be taken immediately, he was beaten in some nondescript classroom at an after-school club he was being forced to attend.

And how he hated it.

"Yes, I'll be there," he told Yugi without meeting his eyes. And then, hesitantly, he added "...Thank you." Isono kept telling him he should thank people when they do something nice for him, and he was pretty sure this counted.

However, in face of his gratitude, Yugi started _laughing_. "You-you're welcome, Kaiba-kun."

Before Seto could ask him what the hell he was laughing about, he was distracted by a change in their experiment. He moved the thermometer so that he could read it.

"Temperature down to zero degrees celsius," he supplied, and Yugi dutifully wrote it down.

He thought about going to chess later that day. He wanted to face Yami again and beat him this time. No annoying ties, no annoying Yami gloating about his single win, just Seto Kaiba doing what Seto Kaiba does best: beating people at chess games.

And maybe... Yami would smile at him again?

Looking down at the floor lost in thought, he didn't realize that he was smiling. And if Yugi noticed, he didn't say a thing.

* * *

**Some notes-**

**-Noa is a normal character in this one, the same age as Seto about and in the same grade (grade 11).**

**-Gozaburo often goes away on business trips and leaves Noa, Seto, and Mokuba to be taken care of by Isono**

**-Yugi and Yami are brothers, with Yami being one year older (Yugi's taking physics a year early which is how he's in Seto's class)**

**-Pretty much everyone's Egyptian characters are in this story and will be revealed in time**

**-I don't fucking know anything about physics**

**Thanks for reading I love you all 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Yami walked with a little more energy than usual on his way to chess. Yugi, struggling a little to keep up, spoke a bit out of breath from behind him.

"So, what did you get, anyways? On the test?"

"97," Yami said back. "I'd like to see Kaiba beat that."

He wasn't looking when Yugi rolled his eyes.

They reached the classroom where the chess club was held a little ealier than usual because of Yami's eager pace.

"Looks like Kaiba-kun isn't here yet," Yugi noted, looking around at the students in the classroom.

"Mhm." Yami quickly made his way to his usual desk, being sure to sit on the side of the white pieces, as Kaiba always did. Naturally, Kaiba always showed up a few moments earlier than Yami. It seemed something was keeping him this day, though.

Smirking, Yami considered the possibility of Kaiba not even showing up today after getting beaten by Yami last time. But, he didn't really think he'd skip; Kaiba may have been a sore loser, but he wasn't a quitter. Yami had no doubt Kaiba would keep coming back until the day he defeated him in turn.

But, it was unlikely that that day would ever come.

Yami took his phone from his pocket, but he wasn't on it long before the seat across from him was filled.

Kaiba settled himself in his chair fluidly, setting his case on the floor next to him. Without a word, he reached to the chess board and neatly turned it around so that the white pieces faced himself.

Dejected, Yami opened his mouth to protest, but then Kaiba moved one of the pawns, and the game had started.

Yami clicked his phone off and set it on the table. What a goddamn _brat_. That little smirk on his face that Yami usually found interesting and entertaining was really _pissing _him off this time.

With a challenging look of his own, he made the second move.

* * *

Seto was dying to know what Yami's score on the test was, but there was no way he was going to ask him outright. The first thing he had to do was beat him in this chess game.

And then, to ensure he was never humiliated again, never show up to chess again, fuck what Isono tells him to do.

"Hey, Seto!"

Seto recognized Noa's annoying voice as he came forward. _Fuck._ How was he supposed to focus on the game with Noa's constant chatter in his ear? Every time he followed Seto to chess, he made sure to be even more annoying than usual. Seto was sure of it.

"So, what'd you get on the test, Seto?" Noa set his case down, pulled a neighboring chair to their table, and sat down in it all in one motion. "100? 98? 99? 63? Seventy-"

"Noa, I'm trying to play a game," Seto interrupted, pinching his nose. God, every time Noa spoke to him it was a whole new kind of headache.

"Yeah, I want to watch but I'm dying to know!"

"I'll tell you after."

"Tell me now!"

Seto exhaled heavily in exasperation, and happened a look at Yami. He was watching the brothers argue with a bemused look on his face, chin lazily propped on one arm. Why did he look so... content? Sure of himself?

Did he... get the perfect score? Seto tensed. The teacher had said there was only one student who got the hundred, and since that student wasn't Seto, did that mean it was _Yami_?

But no, Yami said he had trouble with two of the questions. There was no way the hundred was his.

Zoning off about it, he forgot he was still looking at Yami until Yami looked back at him. Seto started uncomfortably when their eyes met, about to look away when Yami did that thing again.

He _smiled_ at him.

"What _did_ you get, Kaiba?" he asked. "There was only one perfect score in the whole class; was it yours?"

Unhappily, Seto moved his bangs out of the way of his eyes. Briefly he wondered if he should be untruthful. Telling Yami that his score was the best would be satisfying, but stupid. The person who actually got the hundred would be bragging about it soon enough, he knew. That would expose him pretty quickly. And anyway, since that person evidently wasn't Yami, there was no way his score was higher than Seto's.

"The perfect score was not mine," Seto answered. "I got a 99."

His smirk was pompous and arrogant, he knew. That always seemed to get a reaction from Yami.

"Aw, only a 99, Seto?" Noa looked exasperated. "Isono's gonna be so disappointed. He was really counting on a hundred this time. I mean, he made you study for _hours_."

Blissfully, Yami cut him off somehow not impolitely. "I got a 97. Those two questions really messed me up." He sighed, looking off to the side. "Should have gotten a 98."

Seto nodded once. A part of him wanted to gloat, but the remnant image of Yami's smile held him back for some reason, and it seemed inappropiate to do it now.

So, since it had been his turn before Noa showed up and interrupted them, he reached to the chess board and made his move.

Yami looked to the board. Without making any change in his posture, he moved a piece.

An easy opening. Seto cocked his head to the side, looking for a trap, but saw nothing threatening.

Triumphantly, Seto moved to take Yami's piece but then hesitated. Yami was still looking off to the side, not paying any attention to Seto anymore.

Was he... bored of the game? Seto removed his touch from the knight he was going to take Yami's piece with and instead moved a pawn one space forward. Noa looked confused, looking at Seto with a protest on his tongue, but Seto held up a hand to silence him. Probably because Seto never actually took any action to shut Noa up except ignoring him, Noa complied.

After a few seconds of Yami not moving, Seto, rather tactlessly but efficiently, kicked Yami under the table. Yami jumped and faced him dejectedly.

"It's your turn," Seto stated.

Yami's eyes narrowed angrily, and Seto finally felt comfortable again. This was the Yami he knew how to deal with: the aggravated, defiant Yami that always had his head held high challengingly, not the Yami that looked at him bemusedly, friendily, and certainly not _moody_.

But to Seto's disappointment, Yami did nothing but make another mindless move. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and looked down at the table.

"Hi, Seto."

Hearing the voice of his little brother, Seto looked up immediately.

"Hey, Mokuba. Is it time to go?"

Mokuba came up to the table and shook his head. "No, not if you're in the middle of a game."

"It's okay, the game's finished, actually." Seto grabbed his case and stood. "I've just won by forfeit."

Yami looked up at him, confused and indignant. He made a frustrated gesture with his hand, to which Seto only laughed at. Not an outright laugh, obviously, but a little smirk and chuckle just to let him know he was not only unaffected by his frustration, but gloated in it as well.

Not that that made any sense.

"C'mon, Isono should be waiting." Seto walked off, leaving Mokuba and Noa to follow.

* * *

Yami watched Kaiba leave, glaring at the small smile he wore when he left the room.

Mokuba gave him a wave before he ran after, at least, while Noa just flipped his hair flamboyantly with one hand and went after them.

"Yami, what happened?" Yugi's gentle voice was so different from Yami's harsh thoughts that it startled him.

"It's Kaiba, he's such a..." He searched for the right word. "An entitled prick!"

Yugi scoffed and shook his head, seemingly amused.

"What the hell is so funny?" Yami rounded on him, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing." Yugi's smile turned from amused to his trademark friendliness. "C'mon, let's go home."

"Already? It's not even three yet."

"Yeah, come on. I bet Jii-chan will need our help with _something_ by now."

Yami shrugged and stood. Although helping their grandfather at the shop wasn't his favorite task, it was a necessary one, and of course he would never just blow the old man off. He was Yami and Yugi's only parental figure, and the nicest person he knew. Not that he didn't love his mother and father, of course, but he had to admit it was a lot easier to see someone as his parent when he actually saw them more than once every Christmas.

The brothers walked together out the room, Yugi waving to a friend of his as they passed.

"So, why was Kaiba-kun so mad when he left?" Yugi asked.

Yami shrugged. "I don't know. The kid's bipolar as fuck."

"_Yami_." Yugi gave him a reprimanding look. "Don't say things like that. What happened?"

Again Yami shrugged, defensively. "Well, Noa showed up and started bothering him. That's the only thing I can think of, because he got the better score on the test. That's all he cares about, really, is being better than me. So I really don't know why he was being such an _ass_."

An abrupt laugh from Yugi startled him.

"What the hell do you keep thinking is so funny?" He stopped walking and faced his little brother.

"It's nothing," Yugi said, quickly quieting but still with a smile on his face. "Come on, let's get home."

Yami scoffed but let it go. Sometimes he just wished he knew what Yugi was thinking, because the reasons for half the things he did always eluded him.

* * *

"So, how was the test, Seto?"

Fuck, he hadn't even gotten into the car yet. Isono was just standing there with the door open asking him shit.

"99," Seto answered begrudgingly and got into the car. He didn't feel like elaborating.

Noa was already digging in the minifridge in between the seats. "Soda, Seto?"

Seto shrugged moodily. "Sure." Noa tossed him one and Seto caught it fluidly.

"Mokuba?"

Mokuba didn't look up from his phone as he shook his head no.

"Alright." Noa took one for himself and leaned back in the seat.

Seto also leaned back in his seat, facing the window in favour of his phone. He was still annoyed at Yami for losing interest in their game. After winning against Seto, was he not interested anymore?

He felt a twinge of hurt in his chest and mistook it for anger.

If that was the case, then he guessed he wouldn't be showing up at all anymore.

"Seto, you look like you're in a bad mood." Seto looked away from the window and at Noa. Goddamn his constant jabbing. "Does that Yami kid really get to you that much?"

Seto chose not to reply, scoffing slightly and scowling out the window.

The answer was yes, Yami really did get to him. And he _hated_ him for it.

Not as much as he hated Isono, though. A 99 is a very excellent score; just one point below perfect. Getting a perfect score was damn near impossible; how on earth could he be expected to reach that level on every test? No one really could.

But, the thing was, someone in the class _did_ get a hundred percent, and it wasn't him. So this time Seto would hear the praise coming from Isono's mouth, but he would receive the lecture through the disappointment in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Caught between wanting to update and wanting the views to stay at 69**

* * *

Chapter Three

_There's never anything to eat in this house._

Yami closed the door of the fridge perhaps a little harsher than necessary. He had no choice, either eat Jii-chan's prunes or pick something up from the store, because he was far too hungry to wait for dinner.

"Jii-chan, I'm going to the store really quick!" he shouted in the direction on the shop.

"Alright, and bring something back for Yugi, too!" came the reply.

Right, Yami remembered, Yugi and Jounouchi were at the arcade together for a few hours. They were bound to be hungry when they came back. Yami would get something for Jou, too. He always wanted to spend as much time as he could away from his home for whatever reason.

He grabbed his keys and his jacket and headed out through the side door. The crisp evening air was refreshing. It got real stuffy real fast inside Jii-chan's shop.

The streets were just as busy as they ever were in downtown Domino, cars pressing the boundaries of the speed limit to try to catch the light before it turned red, people hurrying to or from work on the sidewalk. Among the bustle of the sidewalk, next to a streetlight, a lone figure stood, staring out at the traffic passing by him. Yami recognized the figure immediately. He couldn't just walk past him.

"Hey, Ryou." Yami was apprehensive approaching him but tried to be friendly. "What's good here?"

The white-haired student didn't answer, eyes flicking rapidly from one car to the next. He was still in his school uniform at four in the afternoon, schoolcase gripped tightly in his left hand.

"Ryou?" Gently, Yami rested his hand on Ryou's shoulder. That seemed to focus him a little; he started and looked to Yami.

"Yami?" His features were still slack; the recognition of Yami's face obviously had not brought him back from whatever edge he was on.

"Have you gone home yet, Ryou?" Yami kept his hand on Ryou's shoulder, just as a precaution.

"Home, Yami?" Ryou's head cocked to the side, still not registering his words.

"Yes, home." Yami sighed. He would have to take a detour and be late back home; Ryou obviously was in no state to be alone in public. He gently led him away from the side of the road. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

Ryou nodded slowly. "Okay, Yami."

Yami reversed their places on the sidewalk so that he was on the outside. He didn't like the way Ryou was eyeing the busy street.

The walk to Ryou's apartment complex was out of Yami's way by far. Internally he cursed the long walk and the evening autumn chill, but outwardly he was nothing but good-natured. At least as good-natured as his personality allowed. He was not really known to be an inherently _happy_ person.

Ever since Ryou's family in England died, he went to live with his Japanese family on his father's side. Currently he was staying with his uncle, a man whom Yami only knew as their surname 'Bakura,' and his uncle's roommate, a much nicer man than Ryou's uncle.

When they reached Ryou's apartment, Ryou didn't make a move to knock on the door or take any key out of his pocket, so Yami took the initiative of knocking on the door.

Bakura's roommate opened the door, to Yami's relief. Yusei was always much easier to deal with than Bakura's scar-faced sneer.

"Yami? What's- Oh, Ryou!"

Ryou looked up when Yusei said his name, face still blank. "Yusei?"

"He was alone so I..." Yami explained. He trailed off when Ryou's uncle showed up at the door, looking hastily dressed in a rumpled dress shirt. "walked him home," he finished.

He really had to get over his irrational fear of Bakura.

"Ah, Ryou, where have you been?" his uncle asked.

Ryou blinked.

Yusei grasped Ryou's arm and brought him inside the apartment. "Thank you for bringing him home, Yami. Do you want to come in for a little while?"

Yami shook his head, knowing Yusei was only asking out of politeness. "No, sorry, my grandfather is expecting me back home."

Yusei nodded once. "Walk safely, then."

"Thanks." Yami's gaze lingered on Bakura a second longer before he turned away and Yusei closed the door.

Bakura and Yusei were strange people, but he knew they would take care of Ryou. Anyways, he had to go to the store and get back home before it got completely dark.

* * *

"Use your napkin, not your sleeve, Mokuba."

Mokuba stopped mid-action and did as Seto told him.

"Come one, Seto, don't be such a hard-ass," Noa quipped from another couch. He was lounged against the seat, feet resting on the coffee table and the rice on his plate undoubtedly falling onto the cushion judging from his posture. Basically the embodiment of the word _slob_.

Seto scoffed. "Well sor_ry_ if I don't want him to ruin his new clothes with ketchup."

He would never understand Mokuba's obsession with ketchup on his rice.

Noa sighed bad-naturedly. "You really never learned how to have fun, did you, Seto?"

Seto rolled his eyes and returned to his plate. Noa made eye contact with Mokuba, smirking slyly as he took a piece of meat from his plate and tossed it at Seto.

Seto started when it his his chest, looking down with dismay at the mess of sauce on his shirt. He looked up at his brother in disbelief of his immaturity.

"What the hell?"

Noa only grinned at him and stabbed another piece with his fork.

_Absolutely unbelievable._ He desperately wiped at his shirt with a napkin of his own, and another piece hit him.

"Noa!" He damn near threw his entire plate at him. "Stop!"

Noa shrugged. "Nah." He made like he was going to throw more, but he was stopped by Mokuba's aim. Seto looked at him in disbelief. Mokuba was unaware, or at least faked being unaware, of Seto's stern gaze as he threw something ketchup-slathered at Noa and they both started throwing food back and forth. Horrified, Seto looked at the shirt Mokuba had been so excited to pick out just two days ago. He knew those stains had little chance of coming out.

_Just like me,_ he thought wryly.

He stood before he could get caught up in the mess, leaving his plate on the coffee table and leaving the room.

They didn't call after him.

He quickly went up to his room, aiming to change his shirt and maybe get whichever housekeeper was on duty to wash the stain out. If he couldn't find one, then wash it out himself. This was one of his favorite shirts. He couldn't live with himself if he just let Noa ruin it. If he let him stain it.

Once in his room, he quickly unbuttoned and set aside the shirt and searched his dresser for another one. He eventually picked out the most noncommittal shirt he could find, a plain black t-shirt he couldn't remember ever having bought, and took the stained shirt into his bathroom.

He doused the shirt in cold water, doused it in soap, scrubbed as hard as he could, but the stain didn't let up. It likely wouldn't, not unless he tore a hole in the cloth the size of it.

* * *

_Ramen for me, soup for Yugi, and chips for Jounouchi._ Yami went through the items one last time before he turned the lock and opened the door.

"Yami?" Yugi's footsteps scampered down the stairs as soon as it was closed.

"Yeah?" Yami set his keys and the grocery bag on the kitchen counter as Yugi came into sight.

"What took you so long? Jii-chan said you went out an hour ago!"

Yami began taking the food out of the bag. "I saw Ryou and helped him home."

"Oh." Yugi came forward and leaned on the counter, looking concerned. "Was he alright?"

Yami shrugged. "He was pretty out of it. He was fine at school, so I don't know what happened."

"Well, it's not as simple as that," Yugi said in a slightly reprimanding voice.

"Yeah, I know." Yami sighed. "I just worry about him is all."

"We all do." Yugi gave a reassuring smile. "So, what'd you get?"

* * *

Isono lightly knocked on the door to Seto's room. According to Noa and Mokuba, he had stormed up there a few hours earlier, upset after a dispute over dinner (which neither would go into detail about, suspiciously) and hadn't come down since. As late as it was, Isono wouldn't usually have an issue with that, but he knew that Seto had homework to do that he hadn't done before dinner and probably wouldn't now without prompt.

Receiving no answer after knocking, Isono slowly opened the door anyway. If Seto _really_ wanted him to stay away, he'd probably throw something at him from under his blankets while yelling at him.

But he found the bed empty. It seemed the room as a whole was empty, except for the bathroom door half-open and streaming light into the room. The sounds of running water came from it, more like from a sink than a shower, though, which was unusual. Isono quickly went to the door, intending to deal with Seto's characteristic bad attitude as fast as possible before checking on Noa's homework.

"Seto, have you done your..." Isono faltered, taken aback at the sight before him. "Seto?"

The boy was leaned against the sink, unresponsive to Isono's calls. Isono quickly stepped forward, placed one hand firmly on Seto's shoulder in an attempt to shake him out of his trance. Inside the sink, soaked in still-running water, was the dress shirt Seto had been wearing earlier today.

_Dammit, another episode?_

Isono turned off the water quickly, but Seto retaliated immediately and turned it back on to its coldest temperature. Isono noticed his hands were shaking, fingers raw apparently from scrubbing.

"I need to wash it away," he murmured. "The stain, I need to wash it away."

Isono gently pulled Seto away from the sink. His grip on the counter gave easily, and Isono steered Seto to his own bed by his shoulders.

"Here, sit down," he ordered.

"But I need to wash out the stain," Seto argued with a distant tone.

"Don't worry about that; I'll take care of it. You'll have it back good as new by tomorrow."

"Will I?" asked Seto suspiciously.

Isono nodded. "Yes, right here on your nightstand." He tapped the nightstand next to Seto's bed as an indication.

Seto seemed content with that answer. He nodded hazily and sat on his bed.

Isono mentally _tsk_ed in irritation and went back into Seto's bathroom. He went into the cupboard where Seto's sleeping medication was and shook the required amount into his palm, filled Seto's plastic cup with water and finally shut the water off. He didn't know why he promised Seto he'd have that shirt fixed; it was worn and wet and probably irreparable.

"Here." He set the pills and the water on the nightstand for Seto.

He shook his head. "I don't want to take those."

Isono sighed. He knelt down in front of Seto and looked him in the eye. Sincerity was the only way to convince this kid of anything.

"Please, Seto. You know they'll help you sleep. I promise I'll get Mokuba to bed on time; you don't need to worry."

Seto shook his head again.

"Seto, you need to sleep." He lowered his voice. "It's okay, you're father isn't here." The way he, and all three of the boys, tensed at any mention of their father broke Isono's heart every time. "Take them just for tonight and get some rest."

Seto stayed silent a long moment before dipping his head in assent. Isono stayed to make sure he took them before leaving.

"Goodnight, Seto."

He wasn't expecting an answer, and received none.

* * *

Ryou stood in the darkness of his room, staring at the small pile of pills on his nightstand as if they were an enemy he was apprehensive to fight. His uncle had gone back to giving him his medicine because, unfortunately, after today he had figured out he wasn't taking them on his own anymore.

He should have stayed to make sure he took them tonight.

Quickly, before he could become discouraged, he rushed to his window, opened it, and threw them all outside. Then carefully, silently, he closed it. It was difficult to do that with his hands shaking so much, though.

But it was better to be twitchy than to be numb.

The medicine made him feel numb. It made his emotions numb, it made his body numb. He hated it; he hated not feeling.

He couldn't take the medicine anymore.

He felt guilty for letting his uncle down, but he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to feel _something_, _anything_, even if it was just the pain that used to control his entire life. Even that was preferable to this numbness.

He stepped away from the window, and, the last of his energy spent, he lay down in his bed and prepared himself for another sleepless night.

* * *

**basically seto and ryou have pretty obvious mental issues, isono is resentful that gozaburos a bad father, and thief king bakura and yusei may or may not be gay XD**

**Thanks for reading leave a review or just hit me with a favorite if you liked it :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh, sick, a follow! Nice**

* * *

Chapter Four

"As I explained yesterday, this new unit will focus on poetry. Reading and analyzing the works of famous poets, and writing your own poetry using the literary tools you read."

Seto tapped his pen on his desk absently, hardly listening.

"You will do these things both individually and in pairs, as it is just as important to collaborate with others as it is to look inside yourself when writing."

A small movement further left to the room caught his eye as the teacher turned away to write on the board. One of the girls in the class was passing a note to her friend, and it passed through two more friends before it reached its apparent target, someone that Seto like to call a manwhore in his mind. Ryuji Otogi. Insufferable person.

Otogi read the note quickly, then made a show of writing a reply and waiting for the teacher to turn around again before passing it back through.

The girl it was from opened it quickly, blushed and nodded enthusiastically to her friends.

Seto mentally scoffed as he looked back to his desk. Classy.

"The Haiku is a very simple form of poetry. It is made of three lines, and follows a simple pattern of five syllables in the first and last line, and seven in the middle one. It's really an amazing form, because in such concise words, there can be so much deeper meaning to dig into."

Jounouchi and Yami began to whisper to each other, but Seto paid it no mind.

"So for your first assignment, you will be writing a total of four Haikus. Two alone and two with your partner, so please take out a sheet of paper."

The collective rustle of paper as everyone did so.

"And before you start, I will assign you your partners."

The collective sigh as everyone realized they would not be working with their best friends.

"And your partner will be working with you for the remainder of the unit."

The collective cringe as everyone imagined themselves being paired with the class idiot, except of course the class idiot, who just continued to whisper with Yami.

"Please listen carefully." Seto really was not in the mood to listen carefully to anything this man had to say.

"Miho and Anzu."

The two girls smiled excitedly at each other.

"Otogi and Nagima."

The girl who had written Otogi the note clutched her hands together in excitement.

"Ryou and Jounouchi."

Jounouchi loudly whispered to Yami, "At least it's someone smart."

"Seto and Yami."

Seto looked up in surprise, and then to Yami by instinct. He was met by Yami's equally surprised look, which turned quickly into annoyance.

_Hm, so that's how it is._ Seto upturned his nose and looked away.

Well, he supposed it was lucky he was paired with Yami as opposed to someone like Jounouchi. But still he had a feeling he was going to hate every second of this assignment. He leaned back into his chair exasperatedly. And it was for _the rest of the unit_, too. Awful.

"Work with your partners before working by yourself. I expect these done by the end of the class."

The classroom became noisy when the teacher gave the go-ahead to begin. Jounouchi said something off-handed to Yami and then went to sit next to Bakura, leaving both Seto and Yami to glare across the open space between them.

One of them had to move into that empty seat, and it wasn't going to be Seto.

After a moment or so, the teacher startled them both by tapping on the desk in between them.

"Gentlemen? You are aware that you must work together?"

Both nodded, but neither moved, and the teacher sighed.

"Mister Motou, if you could sit here please?"

Seto couldn't hold back from a triumphant smile as Yami nodded tightly and switched seats.

When the teacher left, Seto spoke.

"We can just each write one and pretend we worked together," he said dismissively, expecting him to agree immediately.

"No, we're supposed to work together, Kaiba." Yami looked at him defiantly.

_Dammit._ Of course he would make a point of disagreeing with _anything _Seto said.

"Well, how the hell are we supposed to work together on writing a poem?"

Yami shrugged. "Everyone else seems to be doing just fine."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Everyone else is doing the same thing I suggested and gossiping."

"Don't have such little faith in humanity, Kaiba."

Seto laughed humorlessly and looked away. "I don't have a reason to have faith in any of these people."

Yami's laugh was, surprisingly, humourous. "Well, I guess that must be true."

Seto scoffed and was silent, unwilling to agree with Yami.

"So, how will we write the poems, Kaiba?" Yami leaned back in his chair, kicking his legs out casually and giving Seto that annoying, ungenuine smile.

"I told you how I think we should write the poems," Seto retorted. "But you disagreed, so tell me how _you_ think we should write the poems."

Yami shrugged. "We should choose a topic, first."

"Sure." Seto also laid back against his chair. He was sick of this class.

"You choose."

Seto gave him a sidelong look before saying the only thing that came into his mind.

"_Chess_."

An outright laugh from Yami caught him off-guard. "Why are you saying it so hesitantly? That's a great idea. You know-" _God, here we go._ "-there's so much more to chess than just the strategy of the game. Like the idea of black versus white, which can be used as an analogy for evil versus good? Or just the idea of a game of wits, of the opponent on the other side of you; a game played out with skill and strategy to the bitter end..."

"And how every pawn in sacrificed for the sake of the king," Seto added, half to himself.

There was a pause during which Seto wondered how wise it was to say that aloud before Yami said, "That would make for a nice poem, too. Would... you like to write a poem about sacrifice, Kaiba?"

Seto snorted contemptuously. "I don't care what we write about as long as it gets written."

That half-smile on Yami's face again. "Then I guess that's what we'll write about. I'll start."

He turned to the paper on his own desk and appeared to think for a short while. Eventually he wrote something down and handed it to Seto.

_Chess is black and white_ was written at the top of the page in conventionally neat handwriting.

Seto added a comma to the end of the line and underneath it wrote, _A game of the highest stakes._

Yami again took a few moments to think, wrote something down and gave the finished poem to Seto.

_Chess is black and white,_  
_A game of the highest stakes;_  
_Knights die for their king._

"Now you can start the next one," Yami told him.

"Great," Seto retorted.

Deciding to keep with the theme of chess, Seto wrote _Queen is tied to King_ and passed it. He received it back with the words _Death wrote in ivory stone_:

Seto tapped his pen on his desk, thinking quickly.

_'Time is yours tonight.'_

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

He handed Yami the page. "There, done. Now go back to your desk."

Yami took the paper but didn't move at first. He looked at Seto with a strange expression, and just when Seto was about to snap at him, he stood and went to his desk.

_Fucking strange._

* * *

Yami looked at the paper before him.

_Queen is tied to King_  
_Death wrote in ivory stone:_  
_'Time is yours tonight.'_

Well, it didn't really make much sense on the surface, but he was certain his teacher's creative mind could come up with something to fill in the blanks.

Plus, it was cryptic as fuck, which was really cool in Yami's mind.

He still had some time before class was over, so he decided to wait a little bit before coming up with his own two poems.

He looked at the first one, to which Kaiba had only contributed one line to.

_Chess is black and white,_  
_A game of the highest stakes;_  
_Knights die for their king._

One line it may have been, but it was a damn good line, Yami had to admit. Really set the mood.

He looked up when Jounouchi settled into his desk. "Thank god I got to work with Bakura," he said. "I probably won't have to do any work all unit."

"If you don't do the work, you'll fail the unit test," Yami pointed out.

Jounouchi shrugged. "Nah, I'll manage. So what were yours about? Lemme see."

Yami held out his paper to him. "Let me see yours."

Jounouchi gave him his picture and Yami looked it over. One poem was obviously Jounouchi's, far more simple than the one that seemed to be Ryou's.

_Far and reaching wide,_  
_The messages of my dreams_  
_That turned to nightmares._

Also very cryptic.

"They're nice," he said to Jounouchi as they switched their papers back, even though he'd barely read Jounouchi's.

Jounouchi shrugged. "They're okay."

Yami offered a short, polite smile and worked on getting his other two poems done.

* * *

Seto opened his locker and reached inside his case, replacing his calculous binder with his physics binder.

"Hey, Seto." Came the inevitable voice behind him.

"What?"

"What are we doing after school today?" _Ugh_, what was he on about now? He already knew what they were going to do.

"Going home." Seto shut his locker door and walked away without sparing Noa a glance.

"Oh, no chess today?" Noa matched his pace up the stairs easily.

"No, no chess on Tuesdays. We're picking Mokuba up and going home."

Noa sighed overdramatically. "That's so _boring_, Seto. Let's go out someplace."

"Out? I'm busy."

"Busy? Doing what?"

"Schoolwork."

Another sigh. "Come on, Seto. Isono works you too hard. I'm going to ask him for a day off."

"Do _not_."

"Don't be such a mood killer, Seto. Just do your homework or whatever later. We're gonna go out to eat."

Seto scoffed. "Why, so you can dirty my clothes in public? I don't think so."

Noa rolled his eyes. "I already apologized for that."

"Only because Isono made you."

"Yeah." Noa dodged a clap on the shoulder from a friend of his, shirking to the other side of Seto. "But it was genuine."

Seto looked at him doubtfully. "Of course it was."

"You know that Mokuba hates going straight home after school, too."

"That's why he's starting soccer practise soon."

"Yeah, but don't you think he wants to spend more time with you?" Noa's voice softened too perfectly to be unintentional. "All you do is go home and hole yourself in your room working. He misses you."

Seto abruptly stopped walking, turned to Noa in annoyance. "Don't tell me what Mokuba wants."

He turned away without waiting for a response, not caring for any response he might have been given, and went into his classroom.

_Fucking asshole._ How dare he try to tell Seto what Mokuba needed? Everything Seto had ever did was to make sure Mokuba had what he needed. He sat at his desk and set his case heavily down on the desk, making a noise that a few people briefly glanced up at.

_I cannot believe him._

* * *

Yami washed the charcoal off his hands as slowly as possible, wasting as much time as he could before the end of class. His cat drawing was a lot more difficult than he had expected, and he had cleaned up too early in his haste to be rid of it for the day. Honestly, he should take it home and get Yugi to work on it. Although they both shared a passion and a talent for art, Yugi was the better artist. At least when it came to monochromatic charcoal drawings of cats. Yami preferred paint, and nature settings. It was far more relaxing to paint the bright colours of sunset than to fret over the detail of every whisker on the cat.

He painstakingly dried his hands using every inch of the paper towel, wondering if Kaiba was any good at charcoal drawings. He knew that he took this art class because he was in the same period as Ryou. What kind of cat had Kaiba chosen for this project? A small smile came to his lips as he imagined Kaiba intent over his drawing, carefully streaking every tuft of fur. He would be the kind of person to do that, Yami decided. Meticulous and exact, making every detail perfect. Frustrated easily, but patient enough to work through it. Was his art style as cryptic as his words in their literature class?

Yami realised he had been standing still by the sink with a crumpled paper towel in his hands and, forgetting his plan to stall as long as possible, quickly threw it out and returned to his seat.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Hopefully his teacher wouldn't notice him slacking.

"Is yours finished?" He jumped, Marik's voice surprising him.

"Oh; no." Yami recovered quickly. "I'm just sick of looking at it."

Marik laughed pleasantly. "I can understand that. Don't get down about it, though. Yours looks very nice."

"Thanks." Yami smiled gratefully and looked away, thinking the conversation over. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table.

"What kind of cat are you doing?" Marik asked.

"A white one." Apparently the conversation wasn't over. Not that he minded talking to Marik, really. He just wasn't in the mood for talking to anyone right then. "I don't know the name of it or anything. What kind of cat are you doing?"

Marik's face lit up when he was asked. "An Egyptian Mau." He slid the picture across the table to Yami. "They're so cute. And they're one of the most intelligent breeds of cat, and have very unique fur patterns. They're my favorite kind of cat."

Without Yami realising it, Marik's excitement was putting him in a better mood. "Do you like cats?"

Marik nodded enthusiastically. "My family has four cats. I love them all, but Tricky is my favorite. She's the friendliest of them and she sleeps on my bed every night."

Yami smiled. "She sounds cute."

Marik smiled back. "Yeah, she is. Do you have any pets?"

_No, not really._ Yami shrugged. "Yugi had a fish, but it died a few months ago. My grandfather's allergic to cats and dogs." That was a lie. Yugi probably would like to get a dog if he was asked, but Yami would rather not ask.

"Oh." Marik frowned. "That's sad. Have you considered a bunny?"

"A-a bunny?" Yami looked at him incredulously.

"Mhm, a bunny. I used to have one, but my brother didn't like it. We had to give it away."

"Oh, sorry to hear."

Marik shook his head. "No, don't be. He was kind of a nuisance to take care of anyway. It's easier to clean out a litter box than a rabbit cage."

"Naturally."

Marik laughed. "Anyways, you should look into another kind of pet. They're a great addition to the family!"

Yami agreed hesitantly. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind." He retreated back into his own space.

He wondered if Kaiba owned any pets.

* * *

Chemistry was Noa's least favorite subject, but it was his best. The only one Isono was impressed with his scores in, really. His other subjects were average to say the least, mid-eighties and low nineties, but his science grades were usually above a 95.

Although he hated every second of it, he knew his father expected him to work hard in something he excelled in. He probably expected him to make a career out of it, since every year it seemed more and more like Seto was the one lined up to take over the business after Father.

Somehow that didn't depress him as much as it used to. As the years went by and he faded more and more into the background, he started to care less and less about being the perfect child. He never was the perfect child, so much that Father decided to adopt a _smarter _child to motivate him to be perfect. And of course that method worked for a little while, but these days Noa pitied Seto. He was just grateful that the weight of carrying Father's business legacy was no longer his. He probably wouldn't even hold it against him if he never had a child; that burden would also fall to Seto if Noa was lucky.

So, here Noa was, taking notes on his teacher's lecture about the difference of electronegativity in polar and nonpolar molecules and pretending to actually care about his life.

Ha, Seto could be pretty _polar_ too, he mentally joked. Of course, so could Father.

He cringed a little.

When was Father due back from his current business trip anyways? He would have to ask Isono later, sometime when Seto wasn't around. Any mention of him always made Seto into a douchebag for the rest of the day.

_If the difference is higher than .6, then the compound is polar._

He wrote his notes quickly and blocked out his own thoughts, trying to write what was on the board and listen to the teacher at the same time. He had to work hard to make Father proud of him, even if it was only a little bit. Old habits die hard, after all.

_H__2__O is a polar compound, so naturally most polar substances will dissolve..._

Maybe if he kept doing this, he would eventually reach his peak. And it would make up for every other inadequacy in his life. And then Father would tell him he was proud of him.

* * *

**Seto and Yami try to work together and the turnout is okay, yami's a daydreamer, marik is introduced, and noa has ulterior motives for his schoolwork. i dunno man, am i taking this in the right direction? i'd love to hear your thoughts. And as always thanks for reading ~**

**Note: I took chemistry this past year but haven't thought about it since, and I hated that class so I've thrown all my notes out so no clue if I'm remembering the numbers correctly and hell if I'm gonna look up anything about chemistry ever again in my life. Unless it's the sexy kind Owo**


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